He is very passionate about astronomy...easy grader..easy class..very interesting even if ur not interested in astr. He is willing to go out of his way and class time to help you if you are not doing well in the class. Take! you will not regret.

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Becker is awesome. His explanations are clear and he can break down concepts in a way that it doesn't seem so complicated. Although his humor is a little dry sometimes, he's a geek, so I wouldn't expect anything less. I think he's funny as sh*t.

dr. becker is cooler than the average science geek. he puts his lecture notes online but go to the lectures 'cause he likes to put all kinds of crazy **** into slideshows. he usually starts class late and lets you out early.

Dr. Becker is a great professor and very interesting. He is so funny! I recommend you take this course.

A lot easier then Geller. His jokes are pretty funny too, but in the stupid-funny way. Drops an exam grade too.

Becker is fantastic. He'll start from bare bones and build up the entire field of thermal physics in the course of 4 months, and he'll do it in such a way as to allow you to do it for yourself. Best intermediate class I ever took.

He's a great professor. Very clear! Outlines notes chapter by chapter. Just read and do your work. He's so nice! Recommended!

EASY EASY class. Much nicer and more interesting than Geller. Exam questions come straight from the notes, and he posts the notes online...he even drops one exam grade, and GIVES you the option of taking the final or not. Really funny guy!!! EASY A!!!

Simply put this man rocks, you can get a 50 and still pass the class with his curve.

The class is difficult, not lying. But the teacher is nice and has very very dry humor, but I think it's hilarious. Makes the lecture slightly more interesting. I haven't opened the book and I got a B on the last test. Tells you exactly what you need to know, drops the final if you do good on rest.

interestign class, funny guy, helpful too, just read his notes and then a bit of the book and u'ld be good. exams are not really bad either. definately take him if u get a chance.

easy class. I went to class like 6 times during the semester. He tries to be funny which is amusing and better than not trying at all.

very easy class, didn't read the book even once, just show up to the lectures, and u'll have an easy A.

Becker is great. He loves astro. and if you need help go to him. the lectures are jam packed full of info. and it can be overwhelming. Do the exam reviews..THEY ARE ESSENTIAL to passing. TRUST ME! he is a funny guy, nice class.

Boringest class ever. He wants us to kill a billion trees to print out the 300 pages of notes on his website. Don't bother coming to class, just study the notes, and understand rather then memorize.

Not too shabby.

becker has to one of my favorite professors of all time. he is absolutely hilarious when he shoots his jokes, they are always golden. he had my colleagues and i cracking up in our seats. oh man so many good memories from his class. next to no one got his humor, tho. i guess that would be mason students for you.

He's so cool. And underneath that beard he's a total hottie. His love for Astronomy is hott enough. Teaching styles wise-it can be a boring class, but all of a sudden he'll add something completely hilarious to his slide and everyone pays attention for at least five minutes. He loves Astronomy and knows what he's talking about. Take his class!

Lectures are boring but you don't really need to attend the class. All of his notes are on the web. Before the test just go over those, read a book a little bit not much thou and do his exam reviews and you should do fine. Definitly recommed him.

Great teacher, awesome grading scale. 85 and up is an A. 4 tests, lowest one is dropped.

He's such a cute old man. hes very passionate about astronomy and you can tell how much he loves it. he makes little side jokes to keep class interesting. only 4 tests and he drops the lowest. the grading scale is awesome, you dont HAVE to go to class, but i recommend it because he explains things better. but its your choice

Adds side jokes that are somewhat funny. Lectures are boring unless you are really interested in ASTR. Take it if there isn't anyone great.

He was a very good professor. There were 4 exams and he would drop the lowest grade. If you have done well in the first 3 exams, you don't need to go to the final exam! I got an A without going to the final exam. It was a great class. :)

His tests are hard and confusing, but he'll drop the lowest grade, overall he's a good teacher. The lectures are a bit boring, but he's hilarious in a cheesy way :)

Awesome, nice, easy

he is a nice professor, funny in a dorky science kinda way, but the information is endless. didn't find the study guide similiar to the test. prof gellar has easier tests that are replicas of the study guides. all my friends had him and got As because his tests ARE the study guides. Both lectures are boring-no need to go..he dops the lowest grade!

He is really smart and knows his stuff. He likes to make corny jokes that I found entertaining and the tests aren't that hard if you go to class and hear him explain what is on the slides. I didn't read any on the book and got high B's on all the tests. Its a good class and hes fun to listen to.

I never really go to the class excect on test days. His study guides are on the internet and they are the exact questions that are on the test. The teacher is very nice though and can sometimes be funny. You don't need to go to class!

Easiest class EVER! Attendance is optional, lecture slides on his website, 80% of his tests are verbatim from review questions on his site (rest from the book review and exam topic list). You can literally attend only the review sessions & get an A. 3 tests & 1 final, drops the lowest grade. If you do well on the 3 tests, you can skip the final.

great teacher, tried to make things fun for the class, easy to understand, wants you to pass so he'll work with you to help you out and has no problem answering questions over again, slides weren't the most helpful, n if i missed class i jsut copied them off the website, but his lectures were entertaining

All lecture slides are online, so there's really no need to go to class. Pretty entertaining if you do go though... he really makes an effort to engage the class. 3 exams + the final, but the lowest score is dropped. Most test questions come off the online review.

Great teacher, easy "A"!!! I totally recommend him to anyone.

Awesome professor! He throws in jokes and little animations during his lectures to keep students entertained. Just attend class half-awake, laugh at his jokes, and then study before exams and it's an easy A.

got an a-, and i know nothing about astronomy. do the online review, it's basically all the questions for the test

Pieeeeece of caaaaake.

very nice and understanding professor!

The lecture can get boring but he throws jokes in the lecture and animations. Notes are online and there are online study guides too. Follow them and you will do well.

no need to go to class or even read the book..just study from his review questions that he posts on his website and you should get an A--all the questions will be on the test basically...

Best. Class. EVER. All the lecture notes are online, along with the material needed to pass the tests. Seriously, class is meant to reinforce what you get from those notes. Other than that, Becker is one of the coolest professors you'll ever know.

No need to go to class at all, he says it! All lectures online. 3 out of 4 tests need to be taken, lowest is dropped. All I did was study three times for the class for 3 tests and I got a B. Study guides include 30 mc questions with answers that will be on the test, which is a total of 50! oh btw, to get an F is 50% not 64%

Easy professor. He posts the notes online and makes the tests straight from the study guides. He's not funny, but he thinks he is.

This guy was so much fun! I'm an astronomy major and this is only my second semester as a freshman, but when I took this class in my first semester, I fell in love with the subject. His jokes are subtle and funny, making the topics more interesting. The final is basically all three of the other exams combined. Take him! You won't regret it.

If you have to take a science and have no interest, take ASTR 111 with Becker. Gigantic lecture hall classes, all of his notes are online, along with 'practice tests' which are actually 1/2-2/3 of the test itself, no excuse not to get an A. He curves like crazy too and its built in, so yeah, just look over his slides and the practice test = A!

I totally didn't have to go to this guy's class, but I did anyway, because he's SO frickin' awesome. He cracks jokes here and there and will move along as if nothing happened. Great and interesting content. Notes are online and he'll even post up the solutions to the previous exams. Get to know him outside of class. He's a hilarious man!

Many good things about this guy. Textbook is completely useless. Just look over lecture slides. Posts practice tests consisting of 30 questions and about 25-30 of those appear on the actual test. 4 exams, will drop the lowest, including final. I went to lecture just to catch up on sleep and hear his lame yet funny jokes. Best gen ed science class

Loved this class! There are 3 exams and a final but he drops the lowest grade. So if you do well on the first three, you don't have to take the final. Lecture isn't mandatory. He posts sample questions online which WILL be on the actual test. Easy A.

Pretty cool guy, and the class is easy. The textbook really isn't used, and he posts his PowerPoints online. There are four exams, only three count, so if you do well enough, you don't have to take the final. The tests are easy, and study guides have several of the exact questions. He's pretty funny too, and always cracking jokes during class.

Pretty easy class. As long as you go to the lectures, and go over the notes and other review material he posts online, you'll ace the class. I got the textbook, but stopped using it halfway through the semester. Not needed. Believe it or not, even though it was a super easy class, I actually felt like I learned a lot. (can sub out class for honors)

Becker is a fabulous professor; funny and willing to help I hope I have the honor to have him for a professor again.

he is really cute and funny in a dorky way. extremely intelligent man. class notes and exam reviews on blackboard help get you an A on exams. i took it as a science gen-ed. best decision ever esp. with becker. whether you think you like astronomy or not, he made it very understandable and interesting. highly recommended! good at explaining things.

He's such a funny and entertaining man, kind of dorky. You really don't need to go to class, he literally says the first day of class that a monkey could pass his class. Most if not all of the questions come off of his reviews online. If you look at those you'll be fine. Highly recommend taking this class with this professor.

Class is super easy. He puts the notes on blackboard. 30/50 of the test questions come from a study guide that he gives before the test. the other 20 can be found in the powerpoints and book if you want to read it (DONT BUY!).

Puts lectures online. Questions from the study guide are on the test. Only four tests and he drops the lowest grade, so if you do well on the first 3, you don't have to go to class for the last month or take the final. Don't have to go to class, just make sure you read the lectures. Grading scale is really easy too. An 85 is considered an A.

Professor Becker is a fair grader; he drops the lowest grade out of four exams. GO TO HIS LECTURES, BECAUSE HE IS AWESOME. He's really helpful, and very funny, too. Also, he answers your questions and he's very easy to understand. He's very respectful of everyone. This class will make you like astronomy! Definitely one of my favorite professors. :D

Becker is awesome! I love his astronomy class. He makes the lectures very interesting, plus he gives you practice tests and study material that really help on the exam. He also drops the lowest exam grade! He is a definite must if you're taking astronomy!

Becker is nice and funny (although kinda corny but in a self deprecating kind of way). The class is easy (an 85 is an A-) but not so easy that it's a joke. I would recommend him whether you're an astronomy major or if you just need some science credits.

Becker is a nice guy, you can tell he's really passionate about astronomy. His tests aren't too horrible because he puts practice tests on bb. He tries to make the lectures interesting by adding jokes, but since its a 100 level class a lot of people don't seem to be that interested. Personally I'd love to take another one of his courses.

Peter Becker is awesome!! He deff. wants you to do well. Approachable, Super funny & friendly. 4 Exams; Three Test(drops lowest one) & a final. Study Guides are very helpful! Overall, easy A :)

He understands that everyone is taking it as a GenEd so he makes it interesting and fun! 3 Exams + final (he drops the lowest). Go to each lecture and do the study questions online and you will get an A. Very easy and very interesting. A likable guy who really loves his job. I highly recommend.

4 exams, and the lowest grade is dropped. You will be given 30 of the questions before that will be verbatim on the exam. The other 20 you can learn by studying the slides. It's not necessary to come to class, because the material is dry, but Becker desperately tries to make it more interesting by making somewhat comical jokes. Nice guy, easy A-.

Funny, helpful, easy going teacher. There are 4 tests and he drops the lowest test score. The final is the easiest. The questions are all taken from the first 3 tests which he lets you have the answers to. Only about half the material is interesting but he tries hard to make it all interesting. One complaint, he's very slow to post test scores.

Class isn't mandatory, lectures are posted online but he often talks about stuff that isn't on the lectures that will be on tests. Drops lowest exam grade. Class is extremely boring, but he often cracks jokes. Textbook reading is recommended but not required.

If you need to take a science course, take this class! He's very funny and his lectures will make you laugh even though they are dry sometimes. Attendance isn't mandatory and the final is optional. Do well on the first three exams and no final needed. The textbook is helpful and will help you better prepare for the exams. TAKE TAKE TAKE! Fun & easy

I found the subject material a little dry, but it was clear that Dr. Becker really tries to engage students. Sometimes, he is funny, actually. STUDY the practice exams - you'll always get at least a C on exams with that alone. Read the textbook if you want something higher than that. All in all, an easy gen ed science.

Did not go to any lectures at all. Tests are 50 MC, he gives 30 to you before the test. Other 20 you can find on the app Studyblue. 3 Tests and 1 Final, all are weighted equally. Drops lowest test score, so don't miss more than 1 test. Make-up test is 10-20 free response questions, which is much much harder and more specific. Overall Easy A.

I'm ashamed that i only got a C. 4 tests and he drops your lowest grade. You dont need the book and you dont even need to show up to class just do the review guide (30 questions that are all exactly the same on the tests) and you should be good to go. If you do go to class hes very funny and entertaining. Such a nice guy you feel bad not showing up

Do not be fooled by this middle aged man in a tweed jacket... Peter Becker is secretly a rock star. Don't believe me? Look up his band "The Badlands." Half way through the semester I found him playing in a bar in my hometown. It was an odd experience for me.

Although the material is boring, he is a great Professor. I feel bad when I do not go to his classes, but as long as you do the work online and study, you should have no problem passing the class. He is incredibly funny, and if you need help he is always willing to meet students one on one during office hours. He is such a great dude.

Peter Becker is definitely the nicest professor I have encountered. He responses to emails regarding questions and answers any questions you have. Astronomy itself may be dry at times but Becker incorporates humor into it. He is approachable and will settle certain problems you may have that are sort of associated with class. Highly recommended lab

Peter Becker is an amazing professor when it comes to teaching the material in a lecture setting. His labs, however, are somewhat confusing. Granted, this was his first time teaching lab, but things felt very last-minute. Quizzes often wouldn't be posted until a few hours before the lab began, for example. Take him for the lecture only.

Becker's Astronomy 111 lectures are enthralling and captivating. He takes a nebulous topic and breaks it down for you. His classes are also solely exam based, and he drops one of them. If you like space, need a science credit andor hate math, I highly recommend this professor.

He is a fun teacher, you learn and enjoy his class

He posts the powerpoints online so you don't technically need to go to class, but his jokes make the lectures bearable. Others say you just need to do the exam reviews and you'll get A's; this is false!! I did this for every exam and got 70-80's (which are thankfully B's because his easy grading scale). The class overall isn't too hard.

You don't have to go to any of the lectures, just read the book summaries and do the review he posts online. His tests are curved, he doesn't take attendance, and and the only grades you receive are the four exam grades (by the way, he drops your lowest exam score, so if you do fine on the first three, you don't have to take the final).

Study the practice multiple choice questions bc its the same questions in the exam, never went to lectures, failed the 1st exam, and ended up with a "B." Big class of 350 students. Easy grading which is you take 4 multiple choice exams and he drops the exam with the lowest score. Pass the 1st 3 exams and you dont have to show up for the final.

Not knowing any better, I legitimately studied for this course and got a B+, which isn't too bad but seriously - get the exams online, it helps. The practice ones he gives you are substantial but they won't get you an A, unless you're lucky or really good at guessing. His lectures aren't too bad overall if you have any interest, but not required.

This class is by far the eastiest class I have taken at GMU. If you do the review questions and practice exam you will pass for sure. The practice exam has like 30/50 questions on the actual exams. If you go to the lectures and read the book you will get an A. Also drops the lowest grade on the 4 exams, so no final if you do good on the first 3.

Fierce.

I took him for lab and he was pretty cool. He did give us a lot of busy work, but he did help you if you needed help. He is really nice and he is funny. There is no need for a textbook for his lab class. He also has a make-up lab day for those who couldn't make it to a class.

He provides study guides before the exams that are almost verbatim to the actual exams with the exception of a ten or so added easy questions that you can find online. I didn't go to class for about 4/5 of the semester and I got an A. Attendance isn't mandatory and he posts his powerpoint notes on a weird website that he uses instead of blackboard.

His class is fine. You don't really have to go to all the classes because he posts the lectures. He provides pretty good review materials as well. Kinda funny. Overall, pretty good professor.

Had him for both lecture and lab and he's chill as can be. Tests and labs aren't too tough, and the dad jokes make light of the somewhat dry, but easy material. I'd definitely recommend him if you're just trying to take a science class for Gen Ed.

Very Very easy grader, just do the work and its an A. I had him for the lab and most of the time it took about an hour and you were out of there. Hes also funny at times and very helpful when/if you need it. I'd highly recommend him for anyone taking Astronomy!

4 exams including the final. he drops one, so if you do well on the first 3, you don't have to take the final exam. His exams are out there if you do some research which is why I did so well.

I took this as a lab class for my Astronomy lecture. The class was mainly doing labs, he would talk for a few minutes at the beginning of class, but then leave you to it. As long as you follow the instructions of the lab, you should be fine, because you do this in a group. There was also a practical lab.

Becker is a competent professor who has fun teaching the lower level astronomy classes. His lectures are entertaining and light-hearted. He is not above spontaneously blasting out your eardrums with duck noises. Really. The content is not difficult. There are four equally-weighted multiple choice exams, the lowest of which is dropped.

He is a very nice person and an excellent professor. He makes jokes occasionally, and has surprises in his powerpoint presentations. He takes the time to explain concepts and answer any questions that students might have about the material. His exams are hard but fair, as he discusses implications of concepts and does test reviews in class.

Overall good professor, hes nice and you can tell he really wants to help everyone succeed in his class. Youre only graded for the exams so you just have to take notes, study, then do well on the exams.

Professor Becker was a overall good teacher. His class was basically all lectures, with the only thing that makes up your grade were 4 exams, the lowest is dropped. I took this class online and it was easy, just study and you'll be good! Quizlet helps too

He gives 3 exams and counts the three highest. He's a nice guy and really tries to make his lectures seem entertaining but usually I skipped the lectures.

It could be taken online or in-person cause he held a zoom call every lecture, or you could just look at the notes and not even attend the call. The exams are multiple-choice and the lowest grade is dropped, or you can skip the final if ur happy. He's very capable and funny, seems like a great guy. The textbook technically isnt necessary but get it

Professor Becker is one of the most genuine people at George Mason. He is always willing to help you anytime and makes sure that his students succeed. There are 3 midterms and a final, but he drops the lowest grade. There are also quizlets of his exams, and as long as you pay attention somewhat and do the quizlets, you will pass this class.

He is such a nice and respectable guy, very corny jokes. You can talk to him outside of class, and lectures are easy to follow. Your grade comes from exams, which in all honestly are not that hard. 100% recommend this man.

Mr. Becker's class was very easy and laid back. He often tries to crack jokes to make his lectures more interesting. Overall I recommend taking him as a teacher.

Peter Becker is a good time. His labs are fairly easy. You work in groups of 2-3. He answers all questions with witty and fun humor. The class lasts 3/4 of the semester. No midterm/final. There is an observatory report. There are pre-lab quizzes and then the lab each class. It does not take the entire class, so you will leave early.

Grades are based on exams ONLY. Exams are easy to prepare for (just like the reviews). Becker himself is a great guy and explains concepts to the best of his ability. Easy class if you are good at memorization. Barely anyone showed up to his class after the first 2 exams so you don't have to worry about attendance.

Wonderful professor who genuinely cares about his students both academically and outside of class. Four 50 question multiple choice exams (including a final) but he drops the lowest so the final is optional. Grading scale is generous (A=90-100, A-=85-90). Lectures are genuinely entertaining and he brings just the right amount of stories and humor.

Pretty smart guy. Good professor.

Highly recommend taking Professor Becker for lab. He gives excellent feedback and will go over your lab with you before you turn it in to ensure you receive all possible points. There are also remote lab options if you are unable to attend class. Overall, Prof Becker is funny and makes astronomy easy to understand!